Which Little Kitten Do You Think You Are!

Something's not right!

The big guy, Barik, thought to himself.

No matter how he looked at it, something was off.

His fist had clearly hit the little guy in front of him, a fist strong enough to punch through five steel plates in one go!

Why wasn't he even moving a muscle!

After thinking for a moment, Barik suddenly came to a conclusion.

"Right, he must have used his Devil Fruit ability to defend himself!"

Barik consoled himself, "Otherwise, my punch hitting his head would have surely taken his life!"

However, when Barik took a closer look at the situation, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Linley stood with his hands in his pockets, showing no signs of using any Devil Fruit ability or any defensive measures at all. He had taken Barik's punch directly with his forehead!

It was then that the stunned Barik realized his own metacarpals were broken. Jagged bone fragments had pierced his skin, leaving his entire fist a bloody mess.

A piercing pain washed over him like a tide, and Barik cried out, clutching his hand.

He couldn't understand how his own fist had shattered when he was the one throwing the punch at Linley.

Was Linley's head harder than his fist!

Linley looked at the wailing Barik, slowly pulling his hands out of his pockets, and said in a low voice:

"Second round, my turn."

In an instant, Linley lunged forward and threw a punch straight at Barik's stomach!

Bang!

Barik felt his insides churn violently. His entire body seemed to contort as he was sent flying backward.

This wasn't a minor setback. The sheer mass of his falling body caused significant trouble for the pirates crammed into the street behind him; hundreds of them were packed together, unable to escape.

"How strange."

Linley's brow furrowed.

The current situation only reinforced his earlier assessment: Kuro's choice of this location for their base was a major blunder.

In this terrain, not only could the pirates not leverage their numerical advantage, but it actually became a hindrance.

If anything, this narrow terrain was far more suited for Linley's individual combat style!

"No matter what Kuro's scheme is, I can't refuse such a generous gift delivered right to my doorstep."

Linley raised his right hand, fingers spread, and then rushed to the fallen Barik.

Barik was still clutching his right hand and groaning when he suddenly found himself being lifted by Linley with one hand and slung over his shoulder.

Hero Skill: Showstopper!

Linley didn't exert much effort using this skill, as compared to Zephyr and Garp, the riff-raff before him were hardly worth mentioning.

Linley, carrying Barik's massive frame, took two steps forward and then leaped.

"Smash him!"

With a roar, Linley slammed Barik's enormous body onto the ground!

Boom!

The ground cracked, forming a large crater, and even some of the surrounding abandoned buildings were pulverized by the impact.

The pirates near Barik's landing point were caught completely off guard, and the scene descended into utter chaos.

After landing, Linley casually tossed aside two pirates and, capitalizing on the confusion, pressed onward.

He wasn't here to fight an annihilation battle.

For Makino's safety, he had to find Kuro as quickly as possible.

After that, Linley would have the energy to deal with the biggest trouble of this trip—

Who was emitting that dangerous aura?

Linley knew that no matter who it was, it wouldn't be an opponent he could easily handle. He had to eliminate all interfering factors!

Lost in thought, Linley had already reached the middle section of Street Five.

Compared to the entrance, the terrain here was more complex, and more pirates were hidden.

Linley grabbed two unlucky pirates, one in each hand, and used Skull Splitter to slam them into each other, finishing them off simultaneously. His footsteps didn't slow down at all.

He had lost patience for playing games with Kuro.

"Kuro! Krieg! Get out here!"

Linley's roar echoed throughout the entire street, making the ears of the surrounding pirates ring.

He then grabbed one of the pirates by the collar.

"Where's your captain?"

The man originally intended to be stubborn, but as soon as the words of refusal left his mouth, Linley threw him flying!

With a bang.

The pirate was smashed into the wall, impossible to dislodge.

Linley grabbed another person and asked, "Where's your captain?"

This time, the pirate didn't dare to answer carelessly. He could only brace himself and say, "I don't know either. After they gave the orders, they left directly..."

Before the pirate could finish speaking, a black shadow suddenly flashed, and five wounds instantly appeared on the pirate's back!

Swish!

"The wounds... they're so hot..."

The pirate grabbed Linley's arm, struggled a few times, and then fainted.

Linley naturally knew that when a wound was inflicted by a sharp blade, it would feel unnaturally hot.

As for who had attacked the pirate?

Linley looked around and saw that the surrounding pirates were already fleeing desperately.

Therefore, the answer to the question could only be that man.

After all, only he could leave such a terrifying impression on his subordinates.

The captain of the Black Cat Pirates, [Hundred Schemes] Kuro!

His ultimate skill, "Death Scatter," was an indiscriminate attack launched using Silent Step. With high-speed movement and the sharp cat claws on his hands, he could kill a large number of enemies.

The flaw of this move was that it was so fast that even Kuro himself didn't know what he had cut.

Whether teammate or enemy, anyone within range was a target of Kuro's attack!

And when Kuro faced Linley Barik, he was so cautious that he didn't even show himself, directly using Death Scatter!

This was also why the surrounding pirates were fleeing, as they didn't want to be caught in Captain Kuro's terrifying attack.

"So that's how it is?"

Linley felt the rapid movement of energy around him and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"You knew those weaklings couldn't deal with me, so you planned to send them to wear me down first, and then use the narrow terrain of the street to finish me off with Death Scatter combined with Seastone weapons."

Linley grinned, "Kuro, is that your plan?"

"That's right!"

Kuro's voice echoed from all around.

The speed of Death Scatter was indeed extremely fast. Not only could Kuro himself not be seen, but his voice also couldn't be pinpointed to any particular direction!

"Coupled with my Ten-Blade Cat Claws infused with Seastone, Linley Barik, you will obediently accept your death!"

Kuro, moving at high speed, was preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Linley.

However, a heel covered in frost suddenly appeared before Kuro's eyes.

"Huh?"

In an instant, Kuro was stunned.

He only managed to utter a sound of confusion before Linley's heel fiercely kicked him in the face!

Bang!

Kuro was sent flying backward by the kick, his body slamming into the ground and bouncing up, then bouncing up and falling like a skipping stone, falling and bouncing up several times before crashing into the wall and finally coming to a complete stop.

A look of surprise was still etched on Kuro's face.

Without giving him time to react, Linley suddenly rushed to Kuro's side, grabbed his collar with his left hand, clenched his right fist, and punched him repeatedly in the face!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Linley said as he punched:

"Tiger, Zephyr, Garp..."

"Those who can exchange a few blows with me are either remnants of the old era or legends of the new era."

"What kind of, little cat, are you!"

Every punctuation mark represented a pause.

And every pause represented a heavy punch!